CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT AS ENABLERS OF WELLBEING AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

Presenters: Professor Sandra Gattenhof & Dr. Donna Hancox

The past twenty years has seen a dramatic increase in research into the effects of arts and cultural engagement on the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities (Fancourt and Finn 2019: vii). The Creative Health Inquiry Report (APPGAHW 2017) and the ArtPlace America white paper Creating Healthy Communities (Sonke et al. 2019) represent two significant recent efforts to assert the role of the arts in advancing health and wellbeing. Both reports advocate community-based and societal approaches to improving wellbeing through the arts.

In Australian regional communities our research shows the value of arts and cultural engagement is in social bonding and bridging that allows individuals and communities to develop a “sense of connectedness, self-understanding and identity construction, as well as a sense of belonging with, or pride in, one’s community” (Brown and Novak 2007 and 2013).

Using outcomes from an Australian Council Research Project (2019-2022) investigating the impact of arts and cultural engagement in regional Australian communities, this presentation examines the connection between wellbeing and social inclusion through an arts and creativity lens. Locating the examination of wellbeing and social inclusion in community-initiated projects in central western Queensland, "The Lost Art", and northwest Tasmania, "Shorewell Presents… Dear Friend", the presentation illustrates through these projects how creative and cultural activities maintain social connection, avoid potential social fragmentation, and support wellbeing.

Sandra Gattenhof

Dr Sandra Gattenhof is a Professor and Director of Research Training in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice (CIESJ) at Queensland University of Technology. Sandra’s research engagements have established her as a leader in the in the field of arts and cultural evaluation as evidenced by commercial research contracts and the publication of, Measuring Impact: Positioning Evaluation in the Australian Arts and Culture Landscape (2017 Palgrave). She is Chief Investigator for Australian Research Council Linkage Project The Role of the Creative Arts in Regional Australia: a social impact model (2019-2022), Social Impact Research and Evaluation Strategy for the Puuya Foundation in Lockhart River (2021-2023), and Valuing the Arts Australia and New Zealand (2020). Sandra received the 2021 Drama Australia President’s Award for her Outstanding Contribution to the Drama Community.

Dr. Donna Hancox

Dr Donna Hancox is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice (CIESJ) at Queensland University of Technology. She is the co-leader of the Creative Placemaking for Social Impact Research Group and a Chief Investigator Australian Research Council three-year grant investigating the social impact of the arts in Australian regional communities. Donna is an international leader in the field of creative community engagement and storytelling for social change. In 2017 she was awarded a Smithsonian Research Fellowship and her book The Evolution of Transmedia Storytelling through Place is published by Routledge in 2020. Donna is a 2021-2022 Fulbright Senior Scholar.